Knotter



y 16, 1929- B. E. BYRD 1.720.817

' KNOTTER Filed June 17, 1927 Patented July 16, 1929.

UNITED I STATE-S" PATENT OFFICE.

BRITTON E. BY I ID, OF GASTONIA, NORTH OABOLINAJASSIGNOB TO KILL DEVIOESCOMPANY, INC., 01' GASTONIA, NORTH CABOLINA, A CORPORATION OF NORTHCAROLINA.

Application fi led J une 17,

.This invention is an improvement in knotters. and more particularly inknotters designed for tying weavers knots. f

In the weaving of textiles, it is frequently necessary to knot brokenthreads or strands, and in order that the finish of the textile be notmarred, it is essential that the knot be of a nature such that it willnot stand out noticeably from the finished product. The least noticeablevariety of knot is what is known as the weavers knot, which provides fora small flat nonslippable connection between the broken strands. In myprior Patent No. 1,57 2,181 of Feb. 9, 1926, a form of mechanism isshown for the mechanical tying of weavers knots. In this mechanism, thestrands are laid in holders in substantially parallel relatlon onopposite sides of the tying bill. When the mechanism is putintooperation, the threads are first positively crossed, after which theknot is formed and stripped from the bill. One strand, the primary, isout by the tying bill, while .the other, the secondary, is' out by acutter on the frame, or a fixed blade on the knot stripping device. 7

Inv order that the crossing mechanism may function as intended, it isessential that the strands be laid in the holders in the proper manner,that is in substantially paralleL relation, or one along side the other,and that each strand be in the appropriate pair of holders. Unless thestrands are so laid the strand crossing mechanismcannot perform itsintended function, and the resulting knot is not a weavers knot, butinstead a spoolers knot.

In the tying of strands of silk, rayon, and

the like, there is liability to breakage of the iber from compression ofthe strand and abrupt bending in the operation of the crossingmechanism. Furthermore, a pure silk strand tends to slip around thetying head if the secondary strand is out before the formation of theknot, thus preventing the knot formation. v

It is also desirable in. dealing withv any character of thread, butespecially with silk and rayon, not only that the secondary strand beout after the formation of the knot, but that it be out as close to theknot as possible, in order to eliminate loose ends in the completedfabric.

One of the primary objects of the present lino-mm 1921. Serial m. 19am.7

invention is the provision of mechanism to prevent placin of the strandsin the guides in any other t tan the proper manner, thus to eliminatethe possibility of inadvertent tying of other than a weavers knot.

Another object is the provision of strand crossing mechanism especiallydesigned for .silk, rayon, and the like, of a nature such that abruptbends in the strand and undue compression in the crossing mechanism isprevented.

Another object is the provision of cutting mechanism for the secondarystrand, so arranged and'controlled that it comes into operation at aboutthe time the knot is formed and stripped from the bill.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination of parts fully described knotter.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section in the plane of the supporting frame. 7

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 with parts removed to show themechanism for holding the knotted strands during the stripping of theknot.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the said means and the tying bill at thecommencement of the tying operation.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the position of the parts justprior to the stripping of the knot.

Fig. 6 is a similar view just after the knot is stripped.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Fi 4. 7 Fig. 8 is a detailshowing the cooperation between the elements for insuring the properplacing of the strands.

In the present embodiment ofi the invention, the improved knottercomprises a frame composed of side plates 1 and 2, connected by bolts 3,and held in spaced relation by spacing plates 4 and 5, the last namedplate being substantially U-shaped as shown more particularly in Fig. 2.

A thumb lever 6 is pivotally mounted between the plates on a shaft 7,and the lever has integral therewith a cam 8 which operates the tyingbill indicated generally at 9. The lever is normally biased to theposition of Figures 1 and 2 by a spring not shown, and the frame isprovided wit-h a hand encircling grip 10, a part of which is constitutedby a. leather strap as shown.

Each of the plates 1 and 2 is provided at the end remote from thehandgrip with a pair of thread seats or holders, those in connectionwit-h the plate 1 being indicated at 11 and 12, while those inconnection with the plate 2 are indicated at 13 and 14 respectively. Thethreads or strands to be tied, indicated at 15 and 16 respectively arelaid in the holders, the strand 15 being laid in the holders 1113, whilethe strand 16 is laid in the holders l2--14.

The tying bill indicated generally at 17 is of usual construction,having a helical portion 18 which is engaged by'an arm 19 bent laterallyfrom the cam 8, the arrangement being such that when the cam lever isswung downwardly toward the hand grip, the arm 19 by its engagement withthe helicalportion of the bill will rotate the bill through'acompleterevolution of 360.

The tying bill includes a pair of fixed jaws 20, and a movable jaw 21,which is a cutting and clamping jaw, moving between the jaws 20, andcutting and clamping one of .the strands in a manner to be described.

The tying bill extends through the spacing plate 5, and the movable jaw21 has a cam portion 22, moving in a circular opening 23 in the spacingplate, said opening being eecentric to the axis of the bill, sothatrotation of the bill operates the movable jaw to cause it to cut, clampand release the thread.

The strands are positively crossed, that is they are bodily moved bymoving mechanism as contra-distinguished from guided movement, intocrossed relation. Referring tothe drawings, it will be seen that thoseportions of the frame plates 1 and 2 which carry the holders 11-12,1314, are offset outwardly, and that the jaw portion of the tying billis between the pairs of holders. The arrangement is such, the bill nor-'mally standing with the jaws upright, as

indicated in Figures 1 and 2, that when the strands are laid in theholders, they will be on opposite sides of the upstanding portion of thebill, that is on opposite sides of the jaws which are then in register,and one strand, the strand 15 in the present instance, will lie acrossthe'body of the bill.

The crossing mechanism includes a pair of rockers 24 and 25, the formerbeing pivoted at 26 on the frame plate 1, while the latter is pivoted at27 on the frame plate 2.

the edge 35.

Each of these rockers is notched as indicated at 28 and 29 respectively.With each rocker is connected the forward end of a slide 30 and 31respectively, the said slides moving through openings in the connectionsbetween the outwardly offset portions of the frame plates and the bodiesthereof, to the pivotal connection with the rockers.

The principal portion of each slide moves on theiouter face of theadjacent frame plate, and these portions are connected by a connectingrod 32 extending across the frame and moving in slots in the frameplates, one of which is indicated at 33, This shaft normally rests in anotch 34 in the cam 8 before mentioned, and when the thumb lever ismoved toward the hand frame, the shaft rides up the inner wall of thenotch 34 until released therefrom, after which it moves along the areshaped upper edge 35 of the cam.

The arrangement is such that at the be ginning of the movement of thethumb lever the slides are moved forwardly to operate the rockers tocross the threads. As soon as the operation of the crossing iscompleted, the shaft is released from the cam and no longer is movedthereb. riding upon When the thumb lever is released, the early part ofits return movement under the influence of the spring does not effectthe shaft, and there is no move ment of the shaft until it contacts withthe front wall of the notch 34, which is extended to form a nose asshown at 36 for engaging the shaft, to constrain it to-move into thenotch, and thus return the rockers to normal position.

The operation of the rockers, which move only the strand 16, that isthe'outermost is sup 'lemented by the slides 30 and 31. Each of theseslides is provided near its connection with the adjacent rocker, with anoutwardly extending finger 37 for the slide 30 and 38 for the slide 31.These fingers overlie the innermost strand, whenthe parts are in normalposition, and are adapted to engage above said strand, to move itoutwardly beneath the outermost strand, which at the same time is movedinwardly and downv wardly by the rockers. Thus the strands are crossedon the opposite sides of the bill, into the position shown in Fig. 4,the said strands being positively moved into' the crossed relation. I

The relation of the helical portion of the tying bill and the arm 19 issuch that when the crossing of the strands is completed, the

tyiugbill has completed a little less than 90 of its travel, that is itis in about the position of Fig. 4. Continued movement of the thumblever and of the bill causes the point thereof to move between thestrands beyond the cross at the left of the bill in Fig. 4, to form thestrands into a loop and to cut and clamp one thread, after which theformed loose knot is stripped from the bill, by the stripper mechanismindicated at 39.

This mechanism is in the form of alever pivoted at between the frame,plates. The rear end of the lever extends above the arm 19 of the cam asshown in Fig. 2, and the said end is so curved that the forward movementof the arm 19 does not effect the lever until the arm 19 passes beyondthe from the bill.- After the knot is stripped from the bill the strand15 is cut between the --bill and the seats or holders 11-12, the

strand 16 having been previously cut by the cutting and .clamping jaw 21of the bill.

The above described mechanism is sub.- stantially that shown anddescribed in my prior patent above mentioned, and in Boyce Patent No.1,599,160, dated September 7, 1926. With this construction to insure thetying of a weavers knot, it is essential that the strands be laid in theappropriate holders, the inner strand in the holders 1113, and the outerstrand in the holders 1214. Through inadvertence, or by intention, thestrands maybe improperly placed, in which event a spoolers knot willresult.

In order to insure the proper placing of the strands, mechanism isprovided to prevent the placing of them in any other position than inthe appropriate holders. The said mechanism includes an are shaped arm44 normally lying transversely of the frame, between the members of therespective pairs of holders. This arm has a stirrup or U- shapedextension 45, which is pivoted on one of the connecting bolts 46 betweenthe side plates.

The arms of the stirrup are mounted on the bolt, one between the frameplates, and the other outside the plate 1, and a coil spring 47 arrangedon the bolt, normally acts to hold the arm 44 in the position shown inFigures 1 and 2. The arm is in the path of movement of the stripper whenit moves upward, and the pivotal mounting enables the stripper to swingthearm so that it does not interfere. with the movement of the stripper.As soon as the stripper returns to normal position the spring 47 returnsthe arm to normal position.

The'free end of the arm is just above an upwardly extending finger 48 onthe rocker 25, which in the normal condition of the parts ,issubstantially vertical and is slightly within a line dropped from thefree end of the arm 44. The arm 44 and the finger 48 effectively preventplacing of the strands in other than the proper holders. The only way inwhich the strands can be misplaced is to swing one or the other of thestrands laterally between the adjacent ends of the arm and finger, andit is obvious that such lateral movement of the strand could only happenby intention, and not through inadvertence.

In tying silk, rayon, and the like, it is desirable to prevent unduecompression of thestrand, and abrupt bending. \Vith this object in viewthe inner face of the rocker 25 is provided with a facing 49 of paddingmaterial, such for instance as soft leather,

this facing being held in place by the pivot 27 of the rocker and anintegral clip 50 on the rocker, the clip overlying the end of thepadding or facing remotefrom the pivot. The provision of the facing alsoenables a better gripping action with less pressure. because theco-efiicient offriction of the leather is higher than that of metal.

The forward end of the slide 31 which operates the rocker is bent orcurved inwardly as shown more particularly at 51 in Fig. 7 to present arounded surface against the inner strand 15 when moving it into crossedrelation. The finger 38 above mentioned is at the top of this curvedportion. That porand the rocker during crossing is grasped be tween thepadding and the slide with sutficient firmness to enable straining ofthe knot, but in a manner such as to preventinjury to the strand.

VVithsilk and rayon, the strand 16 should be cut between the bill andthe holders 1112 at about the same time that the knot is formed andstripped, since strands of this character will slip out around the tyinghead and fail to form a knot, if the said strand is cut before the knotis formed and at least partially tightened.

With this object in view, the'cutter for the strand 16 at the'pointspecified is mounted on the stripping device, and is operated by themovement of the stripper in stripping the knot. The cutting mechanismincludes an elbow lever, one arm of which indicated at 52 is a blade,cooperating with a fixed blade 53 secured to the stripping device.Referring to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the blade 53 is in the form ofan angle plate, one arm of which is secured to the part 42 of the stripper, the other arm forming the blade, and being secured to the body ofthe stripper in spaced relation. The elbow lever is pivoted between thisfixed blade and the body of the stripper. I

The other arm 54 of the elbow lever has'a hook, which engages in aslotted extension 'tion of the strand which is between the slide oted onone of the connecting bolts 59 between the side plates. The operation ofthe parts just described is as follows. When the the rockers and slides.

parts are in normal position the blade 52 is open as shown moreparticularly in Fig. 2. At the beginning of the upward movement of thestripper, the hook of the elbow lever arm 54 moves freely in the slottedextension. As the movable blade nears the level of the tying bill jaws,which at this time are substantially vertical, the blade begins to movetoward the fixed blade and the cutting movement is completed as thestripper reaches the end of its upward movement. At this time the knotis completely formed and substantially tight.

Duringthe straining operation the strands are held on one side of thebill by the holders 131-l, and at the other side by the clamping jaw ofthe tying bill, and by the holder 12.

The cutter for the strand 15 between the bill' and the holder 12operates to cut at about the moment when the knot begins to strip fromthe tying bill.

.The operation of the knotter is as follows. The strands 15 and 16 arelaid in the holders 1112, 1314, and because of the elements 44 and 48,they must be properly laid. As the thumb lever is depressed, the strandsare crossed on each side of the tying bill by There are no abrupt bendsand no crushing and chafing between opposing rigid surfaces when dealingwith silk and rayon. As the crossing is completed, the tying bill comesinto operation, forming a knot in the strands, and cutting and clampingthe strand 16 between the bill and the holders 11-12.

After'the knot is formed, the stripper comes into 0 eration and stripsit from the tying bill. com lete, and substantially strained, the cutteror the strand 15 comes into operation. The stripper in stripping thetied strands from the bill engages what may .be considered as the loopformed by the tying of the strands, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. Thestrands are at this time held by the holders 13-14, so that the knot isthoroughly tightened before the strands are released by the holders.

What is claimed as new is 1. In a knotter including a tying bill and apair of holders at each side of the bill for holding a 'lurality ofstrands in substantially paral el relation on opposite sides of thebill, and means to separate the strands and to guide each strand intothe appropriate set of holders.

2. In a knotter including a frame, a tying bill, and a pair of holdersin connection with the frame at each side of the bill for holding aplurality of strands in substantially parallel relation on oppositesides of t the moment when the knot is and to guide each strand into theappropriate set of holders, said means including an arm extending fromthe frame between the members of one pair to a point near the oppositepair and between the members thereof, and means in connection with theframe between said opposite pair for cooperating with the arm.

l. In a knotter including a frame, a tying bill, a pair of holders ateach side of the bill for holding a plurality of strands insubstantially arallel relation on opposite sides of the Bill, and astripper for the formed knot movable bodily with respect to the bill andthe holders, and means to separate the strands and to guide each strandinto the appropriate set of holders, said means including an armextending from the frame between the holders of one pair to near theframe at a point between the members of the other pair, said arm in thepath of movement of the stripper and pivotally mounted to be swung outof position by the stripper in its stripping movement, and a spring forholding the arm in normal position.

5. In a knotter having knot forming means, and stripping means movablewith respect thereto to stri and strain the formed knot, means orclamping the strands to provide counter pressure for the stripping andstraining means, said clamping means having an engaging surface thereoffaced with material having a high co-efiicient of friction.

6. In a knotter having knot forming means, and stripping means movablewith respect thereto to strip and strain the formed knot, means forclamping the strands to provide counter pressure for the stripping andstraining means, said clamping means having an engaging surface thereoffaced with material having a high co-eifioient of friction, said meansshaped to prevent abrupt bends in the strand.

7. A knotter comprising a tying bill, and means to cross the strands oneach side of the bill, said means including holders for supporting thestrands in substantially arallel relation on opposite sides of the ill,rockers for engaging the outermost strand, slides for operating therockers having means to engage the innermost strand and move it abovethe outermost strand, the strand engaging face of the rocker at one sideof the bill provided with a facing of relatively soft material having ahigh coefiicient of friction and the engaging edge of the adjacent slidecurved to prevent abrupt bending of the strand.

Y 8. In a knotter including a supporting frame, a tying bill journaledtherein, a pair of holders in connection with the frame at each side ofthe bill for supporting a pair of strands in substantially parallelrelation on opposite sides of the bill, and means to cross the strandson opposite sides of the bill, said means cooperating with the frame togrip the strands at the holders at one side of the bill, the strandengaging surfaces of one of said elements padded'to prevent crushing ofthe strands.

9. In a knotter including a supporting frame, a tying bill journaledtherein, a pair of holders in connection with the frame at each side ofthe bill for supporting a pair of strands in substantially parallelrelation on opposite sides of the bill, and means to cross the strandson opposite sides of the bill, said means cooperating with the frame togrip the strands at the-holders at one side of the bill, the strandengaging sur-' faces of one of said elements padded to prevent crushingof the strands, and the engagin edges thereof convex.

10. n a knotter including a tying bill, means to support a pair ofstrands in substantially parallel relation on opposite sides of thebill, means to cross the strands, and means to strip the knotter fromthe hill,

means carried by the stripping means to sever one of the strands nearthe end of the stripping movement, said means operated to out by thestripping movement of the bill.

11. In a knotter including a t 'ng bill, means to support a pair ofstran s in substantially parallel relation on opposite sides of thebill, means to cross the strands, and means to strip the knot from thebill, means carried by the stripping means to sever one of the strandsnear the end of the stripping movement, said means including a fixedblade on the stripping means, a movable blade pivoted thereto, and alost motion connection between the movable blade and the frame foroperating the blade to out near the end of the movement of thestrippingmeans, said cooperating means padded and shaped to preventabrupt bends in the strands.

Signed at Gastonia, in the county of Gaston and State of North Carolina,this 11th day of June A. D. 1927. I

BRITTON E. BYRD.

